


Drawn to Life: Beginning Again

by TheOtherWriter_101



Series: Drawn to Life: The Shadow Cycle [1]
Category: Drawn to Life (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-04
Updated: 2021-03-03
Packaged: 2021-03-17 01:40:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,810
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29834064
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheOtherWriter_101/pseuds/TheOtherWriter_101
Summary: Sometimes, an ending is also a beginning. And sometimes, thing's aren't as simple as they appear. A child wakes up in a hospital bed, scarred but on the road to recovery. And yet what he thought was just a dream carries on...As we begin again, we think once more about who we are, and why we're here. And why the darkness, still, hasn't left us...
Series: Drawn to Life: The Shadow Cycle [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2193324
Kudos: 1





	1. A Dark Monster ...

“This is it.”

“We don’t have to do this, Mari.”

“Yes we do. You know we do.”

…

“Creator, we’re ready.”

…

…

“I’m scared, Jowee.”

“I know. Me too.”

“Mari, you never told me what Wilfre showed you to make you do all this.”

“It was you, Mike. He showed me …”

“You …”

\--------------------

_It was dark and raining._

_We were near a forest._

_I was wearing the coat._

Mari. Jowee. Heather. Dr. Cure. Zsasha. Samuel. Galileo. Rose. Cricket. Everyone. So many people were closing their eyes, and never opening them again.

_A dark monster._

_Thick black smoke._

_We were alone …_

An entire world disappeared. So many hopes, dreams, songs… so much beauty, so much love … gone.

_I was holding on to him._

_I tried to look away._

_It all happened so fast._

Heather couldn’t feel her fingers. She couldn’t feel or see or hear anything, except one sensation. She was falling.

She tried to thrash, tried to grab on to something, but how can you grab unto something when there's nothing to grab onto, and nothing to grab with? Everything felt smeared and blurry, like a dream, but then how was she falling? When everything else was fading away, why did the falling feel so … real?

So horrifying?

_A dark monster._

_A dark monster._

_A dark monster._

Those words kept repeating in Heather’s mind. She had no idea what it meant, but it just got louder and louder.

_A dark monster._

**_A̶̧ ḑ̵ą̧r͜k̕͞ m̸̢͜ơ̧̨ns̕͡t̛͝e̸r̸͢.͏_ **

**_A͟͜͝ ̶̡D̶̢͘͞A̶̡R̨̕Ķ͞҉ ͠M̧̡̕͡͠O̷͘͞͝N̸̵̢S̕T̷̶͠E̡̕͜͠R̷̶͘͟_ **

She had no mouth, no body, but Heather couldn’t help but try to scream ….

And then she stopped falling. The words fell silent.

She felt as if something had just hit her. Hard. She flew sideways and fell into … grass?

It was night-time. She slowly got to her feet, looking around. Her heart stopped and her eyes widened as a strange, horrific sight lay before her.

Two machines she found both familiar and utterly new were tangled together, engulfed in flames. Two figures were slumped over in the fire, and a few ways away a young woman was holding onto …. Mike.

It was Mike ....

She knew what this scene meant. She knew who that young woman was. But …

Why did she know? Why did she … share her name?

And what did that make her? What did that make her world?

The scene faded quickly. Heather looked around the darkness, terrified. Her entire world had vanished, so … why was she still here? Why was she seeing all this?

She heard, faintly, like a light breeze … screaming. A woman was screaming. Not in sorrow, or pain, but … rage.

She saw a light in the distance. It was the only thing she could see, a tiny, star-sized light. Terrified, she ran towards it. Without a body, without legs, she ran towards it.

The closer she got, the more life seemed to come back to her. She could feel her feet against some kind of floor, feel air moving in and out of her lungs, hear herself hyperventilating.

She reached towards the light.

\--------------------------------

Mari’s eyes shot open.

The sun was shining. Birds were chirping. The grass was as beautiful as ever.

Nothing had changed, except Mike was gone.

Everyone was frozen in place, skin as pale as snow. Stunned.

“Wh …. Wh-whuh …” Jowee muttered, his voice breathless and broken.

Tubba threw up. Isaac fainted. Cindi started crying. After a stunned silence, though, people started to celebrate.

“We’re alive!” Farmer Brown shouted!

“It’s a miracle! Praise the Creator!” Galileo threw up his hands.

“Crazybarksishappytobealive!”

“We’re … alive…?” Mari muttered, at a loss. Her face suddenly lit up as reality hit her, and she started jumping for joy. “We’re alive! WE’RE ALIVE! OH THANK THE CREATOR, WE’RE ALIVE!”

Mari was so overcome with relief that she grabbed Jowee by the collar and kissed him right on the lips for about a second before catching herself. She stumbled backward, face going beet-red, as Jowee collapsed to the ground in shock.

“Wow ….” Jowee mumbled.

“U-uhm…” Mari stood there in shock for a second before clearing her throat. She turned her eyes skyward. “Creator … did you save us?”

No response.

“... Creator?”

A tense silence hung in the air. She turned back to the villagers, only to find they were scarcely even listening to her. They were too busy celebrating, enraptured by the fact that they were alive.

She looked down at Jowee, still floored by what had just happened … and then she smiled. “Get up, dummy.”

Jowee got up and Mari hugged him. The entire village - the entire world - was like this, filled with celebration.

But Heather was not celebrating. She just stared at the Eternal Flame, still mulling over all that she had heard.

“A dark monster …” she muttered. What had that voice meant?

And why had someone been screaming …

\------------------

Heather wasn’t the only one who wasn’t celebrating.

The screaming stopped. In an empty, dark hall, a woman collapsed to her knees, trembling hands clutching the shredded remains of some kind of blue outfit.

Bitter tears soaked the cloth and dripped onto the ground. The woman sobbed for hours…

But even though she had stopped screaming, the rage wouldn’t subside. Not even for a moment.


	2. New Beginnings, New Problems

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a celebration of their sudden revival, the Raposa return to their normal lives. Heather, however, is different, and we get to see how different people have changed in response to the recent traumatic events...

Jowee slowly woke from his dream with a groan. Rising groggily, he looked across his small house to see if Heather was still sleeping. Sure enough, she was. He stood up, quietly made his way over to a cabinet and got out a small pot. He poured some cocoa powder into the pot, stirred it with some milk, and placed it inside the oven, switching it on.

He sat down at the house table as Heather woke up, yawning, got out of bed and gave him a brief smile. She still looked shaken up, just as she had for the past few days. Granted, everyone had been pretty freaked out these past few days, and for good reason - they had all died and returned to life, after all - but Heather seemed to be taking it the hardest.

“Good morning, Heather.” He smiled welcomingly. “Did you sleep well?”

“Yeah.” She answered, rubbing her eye. She sat down across from him.

“I’ve got some coca cooking.” Jowee said. “You’re favorite, right?”   
“Thanks.” Heather smiled reservedly.

Jowee hesitated, then ….

“So, uhh … last night’s festival was fun, wasn’t it?”

“I guess.” Heather muttered.

“You guess?” Jowee pressed. “Navy J held one of his best concerts in awhile. Cookie went all out with his pastries, Pirate Beard fired fireworks out of his ship’s cannons … heck, even Mari stopped talking about mayoral responsibilities for a night! That’s rare!”

“It doesn’t matter.” Heather muttered.

Jowee’s smile faded, and he looked concerned. “... What do you mean, it doesn’t-”

The oven’s timer went off. Jowee opened it and, with a mit on, took out the jar of cocoa. He walked back to the table and served them both cups, before sitting down. They both sat in silence for a minute, Heather’s gaze lowered as she stared blankly down into her cooling cocoa.

“..... Heather?” he asked. “What’s wrong? You’ve been acting differently since…”

“Since the world ended?” Heather asked.

“... Well… yeah, it did  _ technically _ but-” Jowee paused. “Mike’s home. Wilfre’s gone. Everyone in the village is fine… what’s wrong? I … I want to help, but I can’t if you don’t tell me-”

“It doesn’t matter.” Heather said again, a little more forcefully. “I’m fine. Really. Just … forget about it.”

“O- … okay…” Jowee muttered, clearly still concerned.

He blew on his cocoa softly, sipped it, and then put it back on the table abruptly, his face scrunching up. He had burnt his tongue.

“Blegh!”

Heather giggled a little bit … then went right back to blank-faced.

“ …. How about we get you some breakfast?” Jowee asked. “I tend to be grumpy when I haven’t eaten anything too.”

“Sure.” Heather said.

They each grabbed their cocoa - with mitts on to protect their hands, of course, it was still hot - and headed outside.

“Mornin’, Jowee! Mornin’, Heather!” Farmer Brown called from his house.

“Morning, Farmer Brown.” Jowee called back. “How’s the Banya growing?”

“Well, it sure ain’t erased, I’ll tell you that!’ Farmer Brown laughed.

Jowee couldn’t help but smile. He was glad everyone seemed to be handling what had happened pretty well. Even if he himself didn’t feel like making jokes about it, it was a good sign that Farmer Brown did. He wished for a moment that Heather was handling it like the others, but corrected himself. It isn’t right to judge how someone else is feeling, they can’t help it.

Come to think of it, Jowee could relate. After all, he still had a few thoughts on the matter …

That’s not important now. First thing’s first, make sure Heather’s okay.

He walked over to the clock tower - the village’s de facto capital - and found Mari, clipboard in hand.

“Morning, Mari.” Jowee smiled. Mari smiled back.

“Hey, Jowee, hey Heather. What’s up?”

“Not much, just getting breakfast.” Jowee answered.

Mari smirked “I hope you both know it’s the afternoon. I hope you rested well.” Then she looked down at Heather. “Speaking of which, Heather, are you doing ok? I noticed last night that-”

“Why does everyone keep asking me that?” Heather snapped. “I’m fine.”

Mari’s smile faded and her brow furrowed. “Oh … kay….”

“Come on, Jowee, let’s go to Cookie’s, I’m hungry.” Heather said bluntly, before walking off.

Mari watched her leave for a second, before turning back to Jowee. “You’d better stay with her. Make sure everything’s alright.”

Jowee nodded. “Yeah” He began to walk away, then hesitated, turning back. “H-hey, uhh … Mari? About, uhh…”   
“About what?” Mari asked innocently, knowing exactly what he was talking about.

“... Nevermind.” Jowee said, and walked off.

He walked to Chef Cookie’s, where Tubba and Bubba were eating some Banya muffins. Jowee waved to them before stepping inside. Heather was already there, waiting for him.

“Ah, Jowee!” Cookie greeted jovially. “To what do I owe zis delightful visit?”

“I come here every morning, Cookie.” Jowee chuckled.

“And like with every Rapo who comes here, I appreciate it every time!” Cookie laughed.

Jowee laughed back. “Thanks! Just the usual for me please: banya biscuit with an egg.”

“I’d like the same.” Heather said.

“Aye, aye!”

Heather and Jowee went to sit, and in a few minutes, their plates were placed before them.

Heather quietly sipped her cocoa and munched on her breakfast. Jowee thought to say something, but decided against it, and kept eating in silence. Once they had finished eating, they moved to leave.

“Wait, Heather, one more zing!”

Heather turned around and Cookie handed her a banya muffin with chocolate chips.

“Your favorite.” Cookie said. “Thought you’d like it.”   
Heather smiled sadly. Jowee reached into his pocket to grab some rapo coins, but Cookie held up his hand. “Ah, ah! No, zis is on ze house. We’ve all been through a lot, I wouldn’t be zurprised if Heather was in need of zomething.”

Jowee smiled. “Thanks, Cookie. You’re the best.”

“Yeah … thanks.” Heather nodded.

The two soon left.

“Well, isn’t that nice?” Jowee asked. “Free muffin!”

She bit into the muffin, tasting the chocolate. “It’s good …”

She smiled up at Jowee softly. “I really am fine, I just …”

She trailed off. “It’s nothing.”

Jowee hesitated, but kept quiet. Then he had an idea. “Hey, why don’t we go visit Crazy Barks? You’ve always liked spending time with him, that ought to cheer you up.”

“I don’t  _ need _ cheering up.” Heather said. “I just  _ said _ I’m fine- wha- hey!”

Jowee had grabbed her hand and was running. He didn’t know why, but a part of him was panicking: he wanted to help Heather but didn’t know how.

Pretty soon they had arrived at Crazy Barks’ rock. Sure enough, the town loony was sitting on top of it, and he perked up when they approached.

“Heather!” Crazy Barks, er, barked. “Crazybarksishappytoseeyou!”

“H-hi, Crazy Barks.” Heather smiled somewhat nervously.

Crazy Barks sniffed the air. “Crazybarkssmellssadness!”

Heather’s smile vanished. “Oh for Creator’sm sake- I’m fine, Barks, really!”

“No! Nonono!” Crazy Barks pressed. “Crazybarksknowswhenraposhidethings! Tellcrazybarks!”

“Nope. Not happening.” Heather grunted.

“Tellcrazybarkstellcrazybarkstellcrazybarks!” Crazy Barks hollered as he hopped around them.

Jowee was rapidly regretting his decision to bring Heather here. “Crazy Barks, calm down, she said she doesn’t want to-”

“You know what!?” Heather snapped suddenly. “You really  **are** crazy! I can’t believe I had to learn to speak from such a worthless loony like you!”

Crazy Barks blinked in surprise. Jowee started. “H-Heather…”

“Why can’t you people just listen to me!? Why can’t you just leave me alone!? I said it  **doesn’t matter!** ” She threw the banya muffin chef Cookie gave her onto the ground in rage.

The three of them stood there in silence, as Heather slowly looked down at the discarded muffin - a gift she had thrown away - and her hands started to shake.

“N-... nothing … none of this …”

She turned and ran off.

“Heather, wait!” Jowee shouted, running after her. Crazy Barks stood there in silence for a few seconds. Then …

“Crazybarksunderstandsthathewasbeingtoopushy!” Crazy Barks yelled at himself. “Crazybarkswilltrytobemoreconsiderateinthefuture! Bark Bark!”

\-------------------------

“Heather? Heather, where are you?”

Jowee called after her as he looked around the village. She had run north, so …

Of course. The secret beach. Where else would she go?

\-------------------------

Heather stood on the beach staring out at the ocean, the soft waves brushing lazilly against her ankles. The cold, salty breeze on her face was relaxing, something she really needed at that moment. She could barely keep herself from crying.

“... Heather?”

She slowly turned her head to look behind her. Jowee was there.

“Hey.” He said gently. “Heather, please, I … I can’t help you if you don’t tell me what’s wrong.”

She took a deep breath, sighed and looked back towards the sea.

“Jowee … who am I?”

“... What?” Jowee asked.

“Who am I?” She asked again. “I … you know what happened, with … with Mike, but…”

She grabbed her elbow with her opposite arm. “I keep having these dreams, these memories of someone from his world… a girl named Heather. She has  _ my name _ , Jowee… I knew I couldn’t be her because, well, I’m a Raposa, she’s not, but … who am I, then?”

“I knew about Mike. I knew what would happen if he woke up, I knew who he was … how did I know those things? Why did I just …  _ find _ a treasure chest on the beach that just happened to have Wilfre’s scepter in it? That doesn’t make any sense. And then, all of this …” she motioned around them. “... vanished when Mike woke up. Like a dream. Is that all we are? Are we a dream? Is any of this real? Does any of this matter? I-”

She started crying. “I remember pieces of her life, but why can’t I remember  _ my _ life? I’m a Raposa, aren’t I? Where did I come from? Who are my parents? Why did Wilfre lock me up, why was the shadow on my face, why couldn’t I speak-”

Her voice cut off as she choked on her words. Tears trickled down her face as she started to sob.

“Hey, hey, it’s alright.” Jowee made his way over and hugged her. Kneeling down in the water next to her, he held Heather close. For a moment they just sat there, Heather softly crying and Jowee letting her.

“Heather, look at me.” He said, pulling away just enough for their eyes to meet. “This is real. Mike woke up, yes, and our world disappeared, yes. That was terrifying. I was scared too, but we’re here. We’re  _ alive. _ We’re real. I promise you.”

He hesitated. “I- … I don’t understand your connection to Mike, to his world, I’ll admit that. I don’t understand how we came back, but we did. We’re here, and we’re alive. This matters, Heather, I promise.”

She sniffed, wiping at her eyes.

“And you want to know who you are?” He smiled warmly. “You're my friend. You’re Mari’s friend. You’re a villager, one of us, and we all care about you. And if that’s not enough, then we’ll help you learn more. We’ll find out about your parents, we’ll find out where you came from. You just have to let us. Please.”

Heather nodded, smiled, and hugged Jowee again. “Thank you, Jowee …. Thank you so much.”

At last, Heather could start to heal from the trauma of a bygone apocalypse. Whatever happened next, whatever mystery she had to unravel to discover herself, she knew, now, that she had help.

“.... I think I’d better go apologize to Crazy Barks.”

“Good idea.” Jowee said. “I’ll see if I can get Cookie to give us another one of his muffins. We’ll meet back home, okay?”

She laughed. “I already threw one free one away.”

“You were upset.” Jowee shrugged. “We do weird stuff when we’re upset. It’s alright.”

Heather’s smile grew. “... Thank you.”

“No problem, Heather.” Jowee rustled her hair, smiling back.


End file.
